Rosh hashanah 5770

It was the Jewish New Year recently, a family holiday requiring two different menus on two nights. This year I went for a mix of traditional & eclectic (for me), that is a combination of old favorites & recipes from one of my Jewish cookbooks: La cuisine juive maroccaine, by Rivka Levy-Mellul. The whole family was present for these meals, plus some friends, so the amounts are for 8-10 people.

Menu first night:

Lamb tajine with couscous
Traditionally a tajine is cooked in a clayware dish, but a non-stick pot with a tight fitting lid does well enough.

2 kilos of sliced lamb (preferably shoulder or leg if not worried about kosherness)
200 g pitted prunes
100 g raisins
100 g almonds
2 onions
2 carrots (optional)
1 turnip (optional)
cinnamon, ginger, curcuma, nutmeg to spice
sugar

Layer into slightly oiled pot sliced onions, lamb, prunes & raisins.
Sprinkle with the spices. Cover with a little water.
Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 2 hours or until tender. Add water if necessary.
During the last 15 minutes add the sliced almonds coated with cinnamon & sugar. Set some aside to sprinkle on the couscous before serving.

Menu second night:

Roast chicken stuffed with dates
1 large chicken
500 g pitted dates
100 g almonds
3 onions
juice 1 lemon
honey or sugar
cinnamon, nutmeg, saffron

Soak dates 1 hour in lemon juice.
Mix spices with honey or sugar.
Sauté onions in olive oil.
Stuff dates individually with an almond. Mix in onions & spices.
Stuff the chicken with the mixture. Rub saffron into the chicken, salt & pepper to taste.
Add remaining onions to the roasting dish. Cook on medium heat an hour or so.
Serve with the carmalised onions on top.

Roast chicken with bread stuffing & potatoes
1 large chicken
1 branch of celery
50 g roast pine nuts
3-4 slices of day old bread
1 large onion
sage & tarragon
1 kg potatoes
white wine

Roast pine nuts, set aside. Sauté diced onion, add thinly sliced celery, set aside. Heat the bread chunks in the sauté pan. Mix these ingredients together, add dash of white wine, salt & pepper.
Slice potatoes thickly, layer bottom of roasting pan. Stuff chicken then place on the potatoes.
Cover all with some olive oil & white wine, add the sage & tarragon to chicken & potatoes. Put in oven for about an hour.

Both the chickens were accompanied by a salad of fresh greens & herbs.